For this DIY Journal/Sketchbook you will need simple supplies you can find at home, or cheap from the dollar store (if they are still open :/) You will need
- Paper (can be lined, blank, even recycled paper works--one side blank)
- Cereal Box or Paper Grocery Bag (for the cover)
- Yarn or Ribbon for binding your pages
- paint, crayons, markers, paper scraps (anything to decorate your cover will work!)
- Nice straight stick for the spine of your book (about as thick as your pinky finger)
- Scissors to cut your paper to fit your cover
- Hole Puncher (can be single or three hole)
Now let's get to it!
First you will want to open up your cereal box or grocery bag by cutting a fold line in the box/bag. You will be trimming the edges later, so this does not have to be perfect.
You can use any materials you can find in your house to design your book cover. Paint, color, collage! They all work great! I chose to use some leftover white house paint I had in a closet to paint the patterns on my covers. After it dried, I used a black crayon from my daughters art box to embellish the simple design I painted.
CEREAL BOX: You will want to cut your cereal box so that you have to equal pieces (front and back cover). It is helpful if you cut the pieces so that a fold in the box, goes down the length of your cover about 1/2"-1" from the edge (see diagram below). This will help opening your book without having to make additional creases.
FIRST you should cut your inside paper to fit the size or your book. This does not have to be perfect :)
Take a walk outside to find a stick perfect for your binding. The stick should be fairly straight and about as thick as your pinky finger.
Cut or break your stick to a length just a bit shorter than your book binding.
You will want to have thicker string for this step. Yarn or ribbon works great. You will want to have about a full arms length (finger tip to finger tip) of string. You would rather have to trim some off later than not have enough...extra is good :)
Pull the string through until there is a loop left. Put the bottom end of the stick through the loop and pull tight.